|
| |
How Well Are American Students Learning?
The 2003 Brown Center Report on American Education
The fourth edition of the Brown Center Report on American Education combines three studies on the current state of education. The first section analyzes the latest data on student achievement, with a special focus on rural schools. The second part is the previously released and much-cited report on homework, which concludes that virtually no evidence exists that homework has increased in recent years. The third section provides a follow-up report on charter schools.
According to the first section of the report, students in rural schools score above average in most states, but fewer rural teens apply to college than their suburban and urban peers. Further, rural schools are often overlooked by education reformers and policymakers despite the difficulty in gaining sufficient financial resources and well-trained teachers.
Part two, the report on homework released in early October, indicates that while homework has increased for students ages 6-8, the majority of students at all grade levels still complete less than one hour of homework a day. This contradicts a wave of dramatic news stories over the last few years that have described a backlash against homework.
The third section of the report, on charter schools, examines test score data over a three-year period at ninety of 90 charter schools run be education management organizations (EMOs) in 10 states (62 in Michigan). The data collected in the study reveals that EMO-operated charter schools showed solid gains in test scores from 2000-2002, significantly out-gaining non-EMO charter schools with similar demographic profiles as well as regular public schools.
To read the entire report, see http://brookings.edu/gs/brown/bc_report/2003/2003report.htm.
Related Information:
Homework (Elementary)
Charter Schools (Elementary)
|
